


Blame

by flibbertygigget



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Moral Lessons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 13:37:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14403255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flibbertygigget/pseuds/flibbertygigget
Summary: Instead of Sirius, it's Luna who falls through the veil.





	Blame

It happened so fast he didn’t even have a chance to call out. One moment Harry, Sirius, and Luna had been dueling side by side, the next moment Luna had been pushed back by a jet of purple light. Her mouth opened slightly, eyes looking up to the heavens like she was staring at something beautiful, and then she was gone.

“Luna?” Harry said. He reached out to tug the curtain aside, wondering what the Death Eater had hit her with, but Sirius grabbed his arm.

“Don’t!”

“But I have to – Luna just-“

“She’s gone, Harry,” Sirius said grimly. Harry could hear the blood rushing to his head, making him dizzy. The battle that was raging seemed to freeze around them.

“What? No, she’s not. She’s right there. She was just right there.” He began to squirm, panicking, but Sirius held fast.

“I’m sorry, Harry,” he said. “She’s gone.”

* * *

“Harry.”

He was sitting in Dumbledore’s office. He hadn’t moved since they had Flooed back from the Department of Mysteries; he didn’t think he could ever move again. Sirius had come through a little while ago, but when Harry hadn’t responded to any of his questions he had turned into Snuffles and curled at Harry’s feet in a huff.

“Harry, you have to talk to me.” Harry looked up at Dumbledore.

“What do you want me to say, sir?” he said dully.

“My boy, you have been through a terrible ordeal,” Dumbledore said. “It would do you good to talk about it.” He waited for a moment. When Harry didn’t say anything, he sighed. “Harry…” There was a knock on the door. “Come in.” The door opened to reveal Snape.

“Headmaster,” he said. His eyes flicked to Harry and Sirius, but he didn’t say anything to them.

“How are they, Severus?”

“Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Weasley have been taken care of and should be able to leave the Hospital Wing within the next few days. Tonks had to be transferred to St. Mungo’s, but as far as I know she is stable. Miss Granger will have to be put on a potions regimen for the next few months. She should be recovered by the start of next term.”

“Thank you, Severus. Has Voldemort-“

“The Dark Lord will likely call us within the next few days. He will want to recover from any wounds first, so as to not appear weak in front of his Inner Circle.”

“Do you believe there will be… consequences for your actions?” Snape raised an eyebrow.

“What actions?” he said. “After all, I had no idea that there was a plan to retrieve the prophecy, much less that it involved a trap being laid for Potter.” Dumbledore gave a curt nod, clearly dismissing Snape. The Potions Master turned to leave, but before he opened the door he hesitated.

“What is it, Severus?”

“Filius wants to know what he should tell Mr. Lovegood when he contacts him in the morning,” Snape said. Dumbledore sighed.

“I will speak with him after I’m done with Harry.” Snape pursed his lips.

“Mr. Lovegood will wish to see her – the body. Is it still at the Ministry, or…”

“Her cause of death left no body behind.”

“I see.” Snape swallowed, jaw clenching. “I see.” Harry suddenly felt a rush of anger burning through him. The shock of it, after hours of indifference, nearly made him throw up.

“How dare you?” he growled. Snape looked at him sharply, blinking as though he had forgotten Harry was there. Harry stood, swaying slightly. “How dare you act like – like you actually give a shit?”

“What are you talking about, Potter?” Snape said. In the end, it was the dismissive, condescending tone that made Harry lose whatever control he might have had left.

“THIS IS YOUR FAULT!” he yelled. “IF YOU HADN’T – IF YOU HAD LISTENED, I WOULDN’T HAVE GONE, AND LUNA WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!” Snape actually stepped back, and Harry felt a vicious satisfaction. He was vaguely aware of Sirius transforming behind him, of Dumbledore’s voice trying to calm him, but he didn’t want to look at either of them right now. He just wanted to yell at Snape, to make Snape pay for killing Luna. “I BET THAT’S WHAT YOU WANTED, WASN’T IT? YOU WANTED HER DEAD!”

“Harry-“ Harry shrugged off Sirius’s hand and crowded Snape against the door, close enough that his spittle was hitting Snape’s face.

“THIS IS YOUR FAULT! LUNA’S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU-“ Snape’s hand came up as if to slap him, and Harry flinched back. Snape looked at his hand, slightly confused, and slowly lowered it.

“Be quiet, Potter, before you push me to do something we’ll both regret,” he said, voice forcibly calm.

“It’s your fault,” Harry said again. “If you had just listened-“

“What more was I supposed to do?” Snape said softly. “I contacted Grimmauld Place to ensure that Black was where he was supposed to be. I sent the Order as reinforcements when I discovered that you and the other students had gone straight into the trap. Please do tell me what you would’ve done in my place. I welcome your _expertise_.” Harry glared at Snape.

“You could’ve told me that you were going to check on Sirius.”

“In front of our esteemed Headmistress and no less than three children of Death Eaters? Do try to keep yourself to possibilities, Potter.”

“You didn’t even try. Besides, you hate Sirius. You’d probably like to see him get tortured. How could I know you wouldn’t lie to me about-“

“No matter how much I hate Black, Potter, I hate the Dark Lord more. You’re the one who went off, thinking that you and your little club could defeat a group of highly trained Dark Wizards, instead of waiting for the ten minutes it would have taken me to find you and report that Black was safe and sound.”

“But you’re the one who – It’s your fault! Her blood’s on your hands!”

“The only one at fault here, Potter, is you.”

“Oh, lay off him, Snape,” Sirius snapped. “Can’t you see he’s upset? He was just trying to save me. He didn’t mean for – for any of this to happen.”

“Oh, he didn’t _mean_ for any of this to happen. He had such good _intentions_. Obviously that makes up for even damn mistake made in this affair.”

“But I didn’t!” Harry said. “I just-“

“Does that make any difference? Does that make Miss Lovegood any less dead?” Snape took a deep, unsteady breath. “The truth, Potter, is that you made a mistake, and because of that mistake a fifteen-year-old girl was killed. You could choose to try to explain away your actions and pass off the blame, or you could own up to your mistakes and salvage something from this fiasco.”

“But you-“

“It’s time to _grow up_ , Potter,” Snape said coldly. “This is a war. Vainglorious attempts at heroics will only end with more people dying.”

“I wasn’t trying to be a hero! I was just-“ Harry bit his lip and scrubbed the tears from his face angrily. He didn’t want to listen to Snape. He didn’t want to take the blame when he hadn’t meant to do any of it.

“You were too impatient and foolhardy to wait for confirmation that what you were seeing was reality and not a trick that you were specifically warned against. You were too curious and arrogant to learn Occlumency – though I would be the first to say that as teacher and student we were a… poor match. You ran heedlessly into danger – and you led others, including students younger than yourself, into that same danger. You act like a dunderheaded child while claiming the privileges of an adult, and the consequences of your actions only serve to prove that you are not ready for the burdens that come with the information that you so easily demand.” Harry collapsed, sobbing, clinging to the arm that Sirius still had around him.

“Alright, that’s enough, Snape,” Sirius said softly.

“It needed to be said. I won’t take the blame for this when-“

“No, you’re right, but it’s – it’s enough. He gets it.” Snape hesitated for a moment, looking at Harry with a curiously blank expression. “He gets it.” Snape nodded and left the room, robes swirling around him. In Sirius’s arms, Harry cried.


End file.
